MINNEAPOLIS — The struggle that killed Alex Pretti began with a shove and ended with gunshots.
In the moments before he was shot by federal authorities, Pretti moved onto the street and placed himself between several agents who were shoving two women. Video shows him being pepper‑sprayed, separated from the group, beaten and then shot multiple times.
“I could tell the second that I laid eyes on him that he was horrifically injured.”
An emergency medical technician who was the closest civilian to Pretti identified herself to the agents and moved to perform CPR. She requested anonymity for fear of government retaliation.
The EMT, whose credentials were confirmed by The Intercept, said Pretti had suffered a serious brain injury and needed immediate aid.
“I could tell the second that I laid eyes on him that he was horrifically injured,” she recalled. “I immediately said, ‘I’m an EMT! He has a brain injury! He has a serious brain injury! I need to help him right now.’”
In the footage, the EMT repeatedly describes Pretti’s condition as decorticate posturing—a sign of severe brain trauma—before his body went limp. She pleaded with an officer to let her administer CPR, fearing he would become pulseless.
“I was literally begging the agent who was holding me back to let me do CPR,” she said. “Due to the fact that I knew that if he wasn’t pulseless at that point already, he was going to become pulseless very, very soon.”
After the shooting, the EMT, carrying trauma supplies, tried to reach Pretti but was intercepted by a masked officer. An attorney with the Minnesota branch of the National Lawyers Guild corroborated the EMT’s presence and identity, and the account is supported by publicly available video evidence and court documents.
Government agencies have a duty to provide basic health care to people they arrest or detain, according to Xavier de Janon, director of mass defense at the National Lawyers Guild.
“The responsibility of the government is to make sure that the person in their custody is cared for and alive,” de Janon said. “If government agencies fail to keep someone alive and there is proof that it’s their fault, they could be liable for their actions.”
Neither the Border Patrol nor its parent agency, Customs and Border Protection, responded to requests for comment.
The EMT said that while Pretti’s injuries were severe, critical minutes passed between the shooting and when another bystander first rendered aid, a period during which she was trying to gain access.
“They were hellbent on not allowing anybody to help him until he was dead,” she said. “I was right there, and they — all of them — made the decision to deny me access to give him the best possible chance of survival.”
Before the Shooting
For more than two months, Minneapolis and St. Paul have been under a heightened federal presence by CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as part of a nationwide immigration crackdown.
During that period, federal authorities in Minneapolis have shot at least three people and injured scores more, including the killing of artist Renee Good weeks earlier while she was unarmed inside her vehicle.
The EMT was at the intersection of 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue responding to a rapid‑response call that warns residents about federal immigration agents.
“There’s medics dispersed in pretty much all of the rapid response networks,” she said. “People try to be available to dispatch across the city because the rate of them harming people — it’s just so high at this point.”
On the day of Pretti’s death, agents were gathered outside a donut shop in the Whittier neighborhood. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino claimed officers were pursuing a “violent criminal illegal alien.” A subsequent Minnesota review found the man in question had no violent criminal convictions in the state.
Observer footage captured the EMT and another woman standing in the street before an agent began shoving them across the road.
“He was really kind of sending me flying backwards,” the EMT recalled. “I was having to kind of run and stumble backwards to not fall.”
As the women were pushed aside, Pretti, farther down the street, attempted to wave a car through the scene. He then turned to intercept the agents, moving toward the women.
After the shooting, DHS officials claimed Pretti “wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.” The EMT said that was not true.
“He very clearly came over to assist me and the other woman as we were being hurt,” she said. “My first recognition that he was present was feeling his arm around my waist and me looking at him and feeling very grateful that he prevented me from falling onto the sidewalk.”
Bull From Bovino
At a press conference, Greg Bovino said agents fired “defensive shots” after fearing for their lives.
Video, however, shows the agent who fired the first shot at Pretti was busy attempting to pepper‑spray the other woman. He turned and fired multiple shots into Pretti only after another agent shouted that the slain nurse had a gun.
A pediatrician who witnessed the incident from a nearby apartment arrived minutes later. An affidavit filed in federal court matches the EMT’s account, stating agents initially prevented her from treating Pretti, did not administer CPR, and seemed to be “counting his bullet wounds” rather than providing lifesaving care.
Standard medical practice calls for immediate CPR after cardiac arrest. delaying it can significantly increase the chance of death.
“The trauma of that is significant,” the EMT said. “He didn’t get the final act of kindness of someone trying to render him aid.”
Pretti was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital shortly after transport. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem later characterized him as a “domestic terrorist.”
The EMT believes Pretti’s intervention may have prevented further attacks on civilians that day.
“I reckon he easily could have saved me and the other woman’s life,” she said. “All he did was try and help two people who were being hurt by ICE agents.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Alex Pretti intervene?
Pretti saw federal agents shoving two women, crossed the street and placed himself between the officers and the women, attempting to protect them.
Why was the EMT prevented from performing CPR?
The EMT said federal agents restrained her and denied her access to Pretti, stating they were “hellbent on not allowing anybody to help him until he was dead.”
What legal duty do government agencies have to provide medical care?
According to Xavier de Janon of the National Lawyers Guild, agencies must ensure that people in their custody receive basic health care, and they could be liable if they fail to keep someone alive when fault is proven.
What measures could be taken to ensure prompt medical assistance in future confrontations?
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